Organiser Kevin Scott said the float’s tropical theme was based around the Great Barrier Reef and “all the things we have up in Cairns that we’re proud of.”

“The truck’s going to be the reef, with clams and mermaids and other sea animals like crocodiles, turtles and jellyfish. We’ll also have our large rainbow flag at the back,” he explained ahead of the parade.

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Around 70 athletes from the Brisbane Tritons water polo team marched in their annual float, and president Sean Langeveld said the players had been practicing their parade choreography in Brisbane for weeks.

“We had an absolute blast. It was pretty special to be part of the 40th anniversary, and even more special to have Tritons with us experiencing their first Mardi Gras,” he said.

The Sydney Leather Pride Association marked the 40th anniversary of Mardi Gras with a special “40 years of Australian Leather and Fetish Pride” float and invited members of leather groups around the country to join in.

Mr Queensland Leather 2017 Scott Lovegrove was one of the members of Brisbane leather group BootCo who joined the float.

“Mardi Gras is more than just a celebration of gay, it’s a celebration of humanity,” he told The Guardian at the parade.

“There’s so much happiness and love… You have no idea what it’s like to walk up there and see people reach out and embrace what we do.”

More than 12,000 people took part in this year’s parade on 200 floats, including a group of 250 of the original “78ers” who had travelled from all over the country to reunite for the event’s 40th anniversary.